Fading Memories
by RaiLei
Summary: After the events of Season Two, everyone goes their own ways. Years later, the DigiDestins meet again at College, but has too much changed to repair their broken friendship? R&R!
1. Return

_**Fading Memories.**_

Chapter One: Returning 

Standing on the front lawn, brown hair fluttered in the wind, her hat rustling where it lay on her back. Putting the mailbox flap up, she flipped though the envelopes hoping to see her name plastered on one of the fronts. As she flipped through them, she smiled when she saw what she was looking for. It had finally come! Grinning, she clutched the mail close to her, running to the front porch where she could open it without having to balance the rest of the envelopes as well. Setting the other mail down on the porch, she opened the envelope greedily, opening the letter that was sitting inside waiting for her.

University of New York State

1781 Bloomingdale Avenue

Dear, Miss. Tachikawa:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the University of New York State. The term will begin on September the second two thousand and five, a list of books have been included that you will need for your courses. Open houses will begin on August seventh if you need to get your bearings.

Sincerely Yours,

Beverly Mitchells

Head Dean of the New York State University.

Grinning happily as she read over the letter, she let out a squeal of happiness. She was accepted into the University of New York State! Picking up the other envelops of mail, she skipped into the house excited to tell her parents; alongside her boyfriend Michael, who had also applied in hopes of getting to the prestigious University as well.

"Mom! Dad! Guess what?" Mimi called, as she dropped the mail off into the mail shot her dad had made.

Hearing no reply but laughter from the backyard, she sighed. Her parents were always outside enjoying the sun and tanning, that's what came with being one of the richest people in New York City; your parents were usually superficial. She always laughed at superficial people now a day as she thought back to the days in the Digi-World where she had complained about having to work with others of different classes and have to walk long distances. She sure had changed in the four years she had lived in New York City; she treated everyone the same regardless of class and loved to walk anywhere. It was more of a hobby now.

Throwing the back door open she flounced out, acceptance letter tight in her hand. "Mom! Dad! Guess what!"

Her parents looked up at her, both peering over their sunglasses to look at their brunette daughter. "What is it Mimi?"

"You look so happy Did Michael propose to you?"

Mimi shook her head; of course that last comment was from her mother. "Nope! Even better! You know how I applied to the University of New York State right?" Her parents nodded slowly. "Well, I got in! Isn't that great?"

Her mother nodded, jumping up and hugging her while her dad gave her the thumbs up. "Did Michael get in as well? Wouldn't that be great if you two both got in?"

Mimi nodded fiercely as her mother let her go. It would be awesome if they both went to University together as well! "That reminds me, I have to go over and tell me! He's going to be surprised as well." Mimi chirped and waved goodbye to her parents before walking back into the house and quickly towards the front door.

Stopping in front of Michael's apartment door, she brushed over her white dress, getting rid of imaginary creases, before pushing her hair back and fished the key Michael had given her earlier this year out of her purse Jamming the key into the keyhole, she heard the lock click as she opened the door quietly, closing it behind her. Taking off her coat and boots, she wandered down the hallway towards the living room wondering where Micheal could be.

"_Michael? Are you here? I have great news to tell you!" She called, looking around the empty apartment wondering where the boy might have gone off too. _

_Hearing voices coming from Michael's room down the down, she turned her attention to the door, eyebrows raised. Thinking he was watching TV, she grinned, walking quietly down the hall wanting to surprise him. The closer she got to the door though, the more her grin turned into a frown. Stopping at the closed door, she paused, her hand over the doorknob. Something didn't feel right… like she shouldn't be there, but should be at the same time. Shaking her head at her musings, she casually leaned against the door listening to the happenings in the room._

"_Michael? What about that other girl… the one who was at the dance with you? Did you guys break up?" A feminine voice asked, spiraling the room into a bitter silence._

"_That girl?" Michael asked, after a moments' silence. "She was just a side dish, you know? Easy on the eyes, but that's about all. She's not nearly as good as you, Monique." Michael murmured stroking her hair, earning a small giggle from the girl._

_Outside the door, Mimi gritted her teeth together. How could Michael do that to her? Didn't they have something special? All of these thoughts whirled around in her mind, chancing after one another until it all wound up into the 'evil word: Cheating. Cheating… how could he do that, she had feelings too. Obviously though, Michael didn't know that. With newfound courage, Mimi gripped the doorknob then turned it pushing the door open, storming inside. The couple inside the room broke apart as if electricity had sparked between the two._

"_Mimi!" Michael yelled, surprised that the brunette girl was standing in his doorway, looking angry. Putting on a smile, he quickly walked over to her, grabbing her hand. "It's not what it looks like, I swear!"_

_Mimi looked at him coldly, sending shivers down his spine. Putting on a fake smile, she reached down, taking his hand off of hers. "How could you?" She muttered, in a low and cold voice never breaking eye contact with him._

_Michael shifted awkwardly under her heavy gaze. Inwardly, Mimi grinned at her success of making him feel awkward. Looking over at the girl who was standing, hoping to be ignored in the corner, Mimi grinned. Poor girl… didn't even know what she was setting herself up for. Remembering to say something to her before she left, she turned her attention back to Michael, who shifted under her gaze. Reaching down into her purse, Michael's face turned several shades lighter, wondering what might be stashed away in her purse. _

"_Here, you can have this back. I don't want it. We're over Michael!" She said in the same low and cold voice, as she took out the key he had given her and tossed it at him. "Thanks… for nothing." She muttered, and then gazed at her girl, who was starting to fidget._

"_Have fun with this guy. Regular cheater he is." Mimi said, gave one last glare to Michael before flouncing out of the room._

"Flight 161, non-stop to Odiba Japan will be landing in the next twenty minutes. Please finish what you are doing and return to your seats as we plan to descend." The flight attendances' voice rang out over the P.A. system of the airplane.

Many started making their way back to their seats, and Mimi sighed looking out the window as Japan passed below her. She was almost back in Odiba and she was so happy, she could hardly wait for the plane to land and see her friends again. '_I can't wait till this plane lands! I get to see everyone again and It'll be just like old times!' _She smiled inwardly, remembering all of the digital adventures from years past.

After her break-up with Michael, she had declined the offer to attend the University of New York State as both Michael and Monique had been accepted and had eagerly jumped at the chance. Not wanting to be around the two of them being all love-like to each other (as her and Michael were signed up for all the same courses) she had declined and attempted to get into somewhere at such a short notice. Anywhere was better as long as Michael wasn't there and she didn't have to see him.

Calling up her old pal; Sora Takenouchi, the two made plans to see if there was a chance that she could attend the Sakura Blossom College in Odiba. She really hoped that she could get in there, wanting to see the other digi-destined on her breaks from College, but from what Sora told her most of the others were attending there as well. Too say that least, Mimi was ecstatic, she'd get to see them more often then she thought. That was one of the main things she missed when she moved to America six years ago when she was twelve. It was by luck though, that she was able to get into the College at such a short notice, but being originally from Japan, she believed that it gave her an upper edge.

Thinking back to the good old days in their pre-teen stages when they were all inseparable, all bound by the idea that the fates of two worlds were in their hands, along the way they had become great friends as well. The rest of the trip passed by quickly, and before she knew it, the flight attendance's voice' was back saying that they would be landing shortly, and for everyone to return to their seats. Tearing her gaze away from the window, she grinned as she gripped her old brown bag close to her as the runway came closer and closer.

As the plane landed, Mimi stood up stretching before brushing out the imaginary wrinkles in her white dress, before meshing in with the others in the aisle to get off the plane. Walking onto the set of 'roll away' stairs, her hat rustled gently against the position against her back as her feathery earrings swayed in the breeze. Her smile was so big, as for the first time in six years she was back in Odiba! She never thought she would be back this early, she had always planned on moving back after College was over, but the sooner the better was always good for her. As she watched the luggage roll by, she saw a bunch of pink bags coming her way down the luggage belt, she glided over to where the bags were to pick them up and then turned to leave into the main part of the airport.

Crimson eyes watched the people coming out the terminal very carefully, as people poured out of the terminal doors every couple seconds or so. She was supposed to be meeting Mimi here from her plane from America; she hadn't seen Mimi for a while, except the odd picture that came with letters. As the doors kept opening with a burst of cold air from outside, as the door opened multiple times the amount of people that came out dwindled down until one or two people came out at a time. The door opened again and a single person walked out; brown hair tied back in pigtails, hat tied to her back and a white dress and feather earrings to complete the outfit, behind her she wheeled a few pink suitcases.

"Hey Mimi! Over here!" The red called, waving frantically to catch the brunette's attention.

Hearing her name being called, Mimi looked over in that direction, her brown eyes scanning the mass of waiting people until she saw someone waving at her and pushing her way through the waiting crowd. She beamed when she realized that it was Sora.

"There's a lot more people here, I'm surprised!" Mimi chirped, after they had gotten out of the mass of people. "Someone must have a big family… there wasn't this many people on the plane." She continued, casting a glance at the people still waiting.

Sora nodded, not really hearing what Mimi was chirping on about. "I guess so…" Sora trailed off, thinking that Mimi might have been waiting for her to answer. "C'mon, we better get to the car. We still have to get you settled in my apartment. It has a great view, it's right in downtown Odiba, only a couple blocks away from the College and all the action. You'll love it." Sora said as she started towards the door, Mimi close behind her, wheeling her pink suitcases behind her.

__

The trip from the airport to the downtown area of Odiba seemed longer then Mimi had thought it was. Sora hadn't said much on the trip; she kept staring off into space and vaguely answering her. Sighing, Mimi cast a sideways glance at her before shaking her head.

"Sora? Is there something wrong? You don't seem all hear, are you alright?" Mimi asked, looking concerned at what might be wrong with her friend.

Sora sighed. "Mimi… you think everything's going to be like the way it was before, where we were all the best of friends?"

Mimi nodded happily. "Yeah, it's going to be the best! I can't wait to see everyone again."

"Mimi… there's something you should know before we start College in a few weeks," Sora trailed off, and Mimi nodded urging her to continue.

"We're not friends any more."


	2. Memories

Chapter Two: Memories

"What do you mean 'We're not friends any more'?" Mimi asked, looking taken aback. "I'll find another place to live…"

"Not you and me! I mean the rest of us… after everything that happened with Oikawa, we sort of went our own ways. The Digital World was fine and it didn't need us protecting it anymore… so we, well abandoned the whole 'Digi-Destined' persona and went on with our own lives." Sora explained, weaving the car through traffic to get to next exit into the city of Odiba.

Mimi nodded, sighing. So much for things being the way they were back when they were younger, things were going to be different. Way different then what she had originally thought. "So, if you don't hang out with them anymore, how do you know that they're all going to Sakura Blossom?"

Sora grinned at this, getting off the highway turning into the city. "True, we're not friends but you still hear things around here and there. Koushiro and Mikayo are still pretty close with their love for computers and technology, they actually started their own computer business last summer… they're pretty popular now. Who would have guessed that, eh? As the rest of them…" Sora trailed off, thinking about the others she had long since lost contact with. "Taichi, Daisuke and Ken are still into sports… I see him every once and a while out on the fields. According to him, Hikari's big in the arts… hardly without her camera or her sketch book, she's pretty good at art as well. She hid it so well in the old days… and she's not as modest anymore. Takeru and Matt… are still in the 'Teenage Wolves' band, Takeru joined up about a year after the Oikawa incident when their drummer quit due to the destruction that seemed to follow them when the Digimon arrived here. Joe's a doctor now, always knew that he could do it… though she still hates blood. Go figure. Iori's starting his final year at High School, and that's about it." Sora said, pulling into a parking lot pulling into a vacant spot.

The two jumped out of the car, locking it behind them as they made their way towards the looming six story apartment building, Mimi's luggage in tow.

"What floors' your apartment on?" Mimi asked, peering through her sunglasses at the looming building.

"It's on the top floor," Sora called over her shoulder. "It has an awesome view though, you can see the whole city from up there. You'll like it, I know you will."

Mimi nodded, seeing the whole city… something she hadn't done for a long time. The two quickly made their way up the stairs and the elevator to the sixth floor before pushing a wooden door open when they reached the top.

"This is home." Sora said, setting the luggage down on the living room floor when she heard the door close behind Mimi.

Mimi looked around the room with an approving eye. Sora definitely had a taste for apartment and decorating as well. It was plain, but good-looking at the same time. The walls were painted white with pictures on the wall here and there, her living room and kitchen off to the right and to the left was another white hallway with pictures leading to a closed door at the end of the hallway. Setting her luggage down with the luggage Sora had brought in, she wandered over to the pictures littering the walls. The one that caught her attention the most was one with eleven people smiling at the camera, looking like they were having the time of their lives. She remembered it really well; just like it was yesterday.

-------

"_Come on guys! The waters' great!" Yamato yelled, waving at the people still littering the sand, staring at those in the water like they were crazy._

"_No way Matt! It will ruin my hair!" Mimi yelled back looking up from her spot on her beach blanket. "Besides, I need to work on my tan!"_

_Yamato laughed at Mimi, she could be so superficial like every once and a while. Sighing, it looked at the others that were still littering the beach line. Koushiro and Mikayo were there, but too wrapped up in the laptop between them to notice the goings on around them. Hikari and Sora were running around with water guns trying to escape the wrath of Daisuke and Taichi's water guns. The only other people in the water besides him were Takeru and Ken, as Joe has to be at summer school? Who ever **willingly** signed up to go to summer school? As if on cue, a smirk graced his features, he knew how to get Mimi. He called something to Takeru and Ken who nodded, getting the same smirk as Yamato had._

_Mimi, who was busy in her own world, was content. The suns' rays on her back felt nice, something you couldn't feel a lot in the smoggy city. The sun soon vanished and thinking it was a cloud over the sun she sighed, it figures that the sun would have to go away. It felt so nice too… then she heard it. A small laugh before cold ice water came collapsing on her. She let out a small scream from the cold, jumping up to stare at who did it. In front of her, Yamato, Takeru and Ken stood, laughing at the expression on her face. _

"_Mimi… you should have seen your face!" Yamato said, in between his laughing spells. _

_Mimi smiled at what they had done, before picking up the bucket that they had dumped on her. While they were laughing at her reaction, she quickly ran to the water, dunking the bucket in before rushing back to the three and dumped its contents out on her. _

_The laughing soon stopped, and a quick yell of "MIMI!" was yelled out before the three took after the brunette, who shrieked and ran away. Within no time, and all out water gun fight began, the girls against the guys, much to the annoyance of Koushiro and Miyako who were worried about the water and their laptop. By the end of the beach day, Joe had gotten off work and the eight teens involved in the water fight were soaking wet from head to toe, however it was worth it. It was so much fun. Wanting to remember the moment, Joe – who conveniently had a camera – got the eleven together for the picture._

_------_

"That sure was a fun day, wasn't it?" Sora asked, snapping Mimi out of her memories.

Mimi nodded, turning around. "It sure was. I didn't even want to get wet, but look at me there… I'm soaked from head to toe." She laughed, looking at the soaking brunette girl in the picture with Matt's arm draped around her shoulders, laughing like there was no tomorrow. "I just thought that things would be like this when I came back, but things aren't going to work out the way that I expected, eh?" She said, turning her back on Sora, staring back at the picture.

Sora grinned; she thought Mimi knew that this would happen one day that things couldn't go on like the way it was forever. "Hey, don't worry, you'll see them all within time. Besides, school starts tomorrow… just you wait till you see everyone. Anyways, do you want me to show you around here?" Sora asked, making her way down the hallway to the left.

Mimi nodded, following Sora down the other hallway leaving the memories of the past behind. Buried. '_Maybe that's where they should stay,_' She thought. '_Too many painful memories, I guess. Anyways, for the meeting of tomorrow, I'll see you all once again.'_ Mimi thought, following Sora into a room she was saying would be hers while she was staying in Odiba.


End file.
